The Legal Aid Society lauded a decision rendered by New York State Bronx Supreme Court Justice April Newbauer finding that the New York City Police Department’s method of matching of recovered bullets to guns is “significantly” flawed and not generally accepted by the relevant scientific community, reports the New York Daily News. Accordingly, the court concluded that testimony concerning this methodology and its results should not be permissible in court. This decision came after a first-of-its-kind hearing in the New York State courts. It relied heavily on recent a New York Court of Appeals case that directed trial courts to take a closer look at junk science used by prosecutors.

This decision affects not only future cases, but also calls for a re-evaluation of the thousands of past cases where this dangerously flawed technique was used to secure dubious convictions.

“For too long, police and prosecutors have used this deeply flawed forensic method against New Yorkers despite the risk of wrongful convictions. Other courts should follow suit and reject not only firearm and toolmark analysis, but the many types of junk science that have been admitted in courts for decades,” Kyla Wells, Staff Attorney with the DNA Unit at The Legal Aid Society.